Commentary on this conference call may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. National Fuel Gas Company (the “Company”) is providing this cautionary statement to make applicable and take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, the Company.

Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding future prospects, plans, objectives, goals, projections, estimates of oil and gas quantities, strategies, future events or performance and underlying assumptions, capital structure, anticipated capital expenditures, completion of construction projects, projections for pension and other post-retirement benefit obligations, impacts of the adoption of new accounting rules, and possible outcomes of litigation or regulatory proceedings, as well as statements that are identified by the use of the words "anticipates," "estimates," "expects," "forecasts," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "projects," "believes," "seeks," "will," "may" and similar expressions. All forward-looking statements, whether written or oral and whether made by or on behalf of the Company, are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements.

The Company's expectations, beliefs and projections are expressed in good faith and are believed by the Company to have a reasonable basis, but there can be no assurance that management's expectations, beliefs or projections will result or be achieved or accomplished.

In addition to other factors, the following are important factors that, in the view of the Company, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements:

Changes in laws, regulations or judicial interpretations to which the Company is subject, including those involving derivatives, taxes, safety, employment, climate change, other environmental matters, real property, and exploration and production activities such as hydraulic fracturing;

Delays or changes in costs or plans with respect to Company projects or related projects of other companies, including difficulties or delays in obtaining necessary governmental approvals, permits or orders or in obtaining the cooperation of interconnecting facility operators;

Financial and economic conditions, including the availability of credit, and occurrences affecting the Company’s ability to obtain financing on acceptable terms for working capital, capital expenditures and other investments, including any downgrades in the Company’s credit ratings and changes in interest rates and other capital market conditions;

Changes in the price of natural gas or oil;

Impairments under the SEC’s full cost ceiling test for natural gas and oil reserves;

Factors affecting the Company’s ability to successfully identify, drill for and produce economically viable natural gas and oil reserves, including among others geology, lease availability, title disputes, weather conditions, shortages, delays or unavailability of equipment and services required in drilling operations, insufficient gathering, processing and transportation capacity, the need to obtain governmental approvals and permits, and compliance with environmental laws and regulations;

Increasing health care costs and the resulting effect on health insurance premiums and on the obligation to provide other post-retirement benefits;

Changes in price differentials between similar quantities of natural gas or oil at different geographic locations, and the effect of such changes on commodity production, revenues and demand for pipeline transportation capacity to or from such locations;

Other changes in price differentials between similar quantities of natural gas or oil having different quality, heating value, hydrocarbon mix or delivery date;

The cost and effects of legal and administrative claims against the Company or activist shareholder campaigns to effect changes at the Company;

Uncertainty of oil and gas reserve estimates;

Significant differences between the Company’s projected and actual production levels for natural gas or oil;

Changes in demographic patterns and weather conditions;

Changes in the availability, price or accounting treatment of derivative financial instruments;

Changes in laws, actuarial assumptions, the interest rate environment and the return on plan/trust assets related to the Company’s pension and other post-retirement benefits, which can affect future funding obligations and costs and plan liabilities;

Changes in economic conditions, including global, national or regional recessions, and their effect on the demand for, and customers’ ability to pay for, the Company’s products and services;

The creditworthiness or performance of the Company’s key suppliers, customers and counterparties;

The impact of information technology, cybersecurity or data security breaches;

Significant differences between the Company’s projected and actual capital expenditures and operating expenses; or

Increasing costs of insurance, changes in coverage and the ability to obtain insurance.

Forward-looking statements include estimates of oil and gas quantities. Proved oil and gas reserves are those quantities of oil and gas which, by analysis of geoscience and engineering data, can be estimated with reasonable certainty to be economically producible under existing economic conditions, operating methods and government regulations. Other estimates of oil and gas quantities, including estimates of probable reserves, possible reserves, and resource potential, are by their nature more speculative than estimates of proved reserves. Accordingly, estimates other than proved reserves are subject to substantially greater risk of being actually realized.

Any forward-looking statements contained in this conference call speak only as of the date of this call. The Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this conference call. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 10-K and Forms 10-Q, available at www.investor.nationalfuelgas.com. You can also obtain these forms on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Mr. Anderson is President and Chief Executive Officer of Northwest Natural Holding Company (Northwest Holdings) and Northwest Natural Gas Company. He has held a series of positions with increasing responsibility at Northwest Holdings since joining the company in 2004, including Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to that, Mr. Anderson was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at TXU Gas Company and Chief Accounting Officer at TXU Corporation, an energy services company that included electricity generation and the transmission and distribution of electricity and natural gas. Mr. Anderson serves as a director for Northwest Holdings, as well as serving on the board of directors of the American Gas Association (AGA) and the American Gas Foundation. He is also chairman of the AGA’s Audit Committee, co-chairperson of the AGA’s Carbon Policy Task Force, a member of AGA’s Finance Committee and Safety, Resilience/Reliability and Security Task Force, and a board trustee of the American Gas Foundation. Additionally, he serves as a director of the Oregon Business Council. Mr. Anderson also serves on Oregon Governor Kate Brown’s Global Warming Commission and is a member of the Founders’ Circle of SOLVE, an Oregon non-profit dedicated to environmental stewardship. Mr. Anderson has been a Company director since June 2019.

Mr. Anderson’s extensive financial and operational experience in the natural gas industry and leadership roles on environmental matters provide the Board with important perspectives with respect to the Company’s business operations, sustainability, and financial positioning. Mr. Anderson’s combined professional skills and energy industry insights strengthen the Board’s collective knowledge, capabilities, and experience. In addition, the significant roles he has held in accounting and finance qualify Mr. Anderson as an “Audit Committee Financial Expert” under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules.

Mr. Carroll is the President and CEO of Gas Technology Institute (“GTI”), a position he has held since 2006. From 2001 through 2006, he served as the Vice President of Business Development for GTI. From 1996 to 2001, he worked for Praxair, Inc., serving as Director of Business Development from 1999 to 2001. Prior to that, Mr. Carroll held positions of increasing responsibility with Liquid Carbonic Industries, a subsidiary of Chicago Bridge & Iron, from 1994 to 1996, and Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. from 1980 to 1994. All of these companies are industrial gas producers and manufacturers. He is a Trustee of the American Gas Foundation, a member of the Governing Board of Stanford University’s Natural Gas Initiative, and a member of the Society of Gas Lighting. He was also Chairman of the steering committee for the 17th International Conference and Exhibition on Liquefied Natural Gas in Houston (2013). In June 2015, Mr. Carroll was named President of the International Gas Union, a term that concluded in June 2018 as the United States held the 2018 World Gas Conference in Washington, D.C. Mr. Carroll has been a Company director since 2012.

Mr. Carroll is a highly respected, nationally and internationally recognized leader in the research and development of natural gas technologies and market solutions. His multi-faceted knowledge of the natural gas industry brings economic, technological and leadership experience to the Board. Through his professional career, Mr. Carroll has developed expertise on unconventional gas production, transmission and distribution pipeline integrity and end use technologies as well as insight into market and industry developments and conditions. This unique combination of skills contributes to the Board’s oversight of our integrated natural gas operations and provides valuable insight into risks and opportunities for the continued growth of the Company’s various business segments, as well as insight into emerging energy industries. Mr. Carroll is heavily involved in both the domestic and international natural gas business communities, providing the Board with a broad perspective on emerging technical, regulatory and economic issues.

Mr. Ewing served as Vice Chairman of DTE Energy Company (“DTE”), a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide, from November 2005 to December 2006. Two of DTE’s subsidiaries are DTE Electric Company (formerly known as Detroit Edison), one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, and DTE Gas Company (formerly known as Michigan Consolidated Gas Company, or “MichCon”), one of the nation’s largest natural gas local distribution companies. Mr. Ewing also had responsibility for DTE’s exploration and production subsidiary, DTE Gas Resources, with operations in the Antrim and Barnett Shale. He was also, at various times, Group President of the Gas Division at DTE, President and Chief Operating Officer of MCN Energy Group, Inc. (the then parent of MichCon and a company which had utility, pipeline and storage, and exploration and production businesses) and President and Chief Executive Officer of MichCon, until it was acquired by DTE. He was also Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Gas Association for 2006, a member of the National Petroleum Council, and Chairman of the Midwest Gas Association and the Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition. He is a past trustee and past Chairman of the Board of The Skillman Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation focused on providing education for low-income children, past director and Chairman of the Auto Club of Michigan and past director and Chairman of the Board of the Auto Club Group (“AAA”). Mr. Ewing has been a Company director since 2007.

With his extensive background in executive management at energy companies with regulated businesses, Mr. Ewing provides valuable perspective on the Company’s operations. Through his senior leadership positions at MichCon, MCN Energy and, ultimately, DTE, he has expertise in managing pipeline and utility natural gas operations in the northern U.S. This experience, coupled with his oversight of DTE’s exploration and production subsidiary’s operations in the Antrim and Barnett Shale, provides the Board with significant insight into the Company’s integrated operations and opportunities for further Company growth via strategic upstream and midstream development. In addition, his current position as a director of another northern energy company, CMS Energy, provides a current perspective on natural gas regulation. Mr. Ewing is the Company’s Lead Independent Director.

Mr. Finch is the former Plant Manager of the General Motors (“GM”) Tonawanda Engine Plant, one of Western New York’s largest manufacturers with approximately 1,600 employees. Mr. Finch, a Western New York native, began his 41-year career with GM in 1976 as a General Motors Institute co-op student at the Chevrolet Gear and Axle Plant in Buffalo, N.Y. Over the course of 30 years, he held several assignments with increasing responsibility at various GM facilities outside Buffalo before becoming Tonawanda Engine Plant Manager in 2007. Following his 2017 retirement from GM, Mr. Finch joined the Automobile Association of America Western and Central New York as Senior Vice President of Automotive Services. Mr. Finch currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Buffalo Urban League, was a previous Chairman of the Board for United Way of Buffalo and Erie County, and a previous board member of AAA Western and Central New York. Mr. Finch has been a Company director since 2018.

With a career spanning more than four decades, Mr. Finch has a proven track record of leadership during a period of significant evolution for the automotive industry. Mr. Finch helped navigate the GM workforce through economic downturn and bankruptcy. After a reorganization, he successfully secured the addition of three new engine product lines, ultimately overseeing investments at the plant totaling more than $3 billion during his 10-year tenure. Through his extensive GM career, Mr. Finch developed expansive and diverse experience in manufacturing and customer relations, as well as in capital and labor management. Mr. Finch’s success in managing highly technical operations and delivering a quality product in a safe, environmentally responsible and cost-effective manner has direct application to National Fuel’s work in the energy industry. Mr. Finch’s experience in senior level oversight during periods of significant industry challenge and disruption provides an important perspective on regulatory and economic issues.

Mr. Jaggers is the former President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Jagged Peak Energy Inc., an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Before forming Jagged Peak Energy in 2013, Mr. Jaggers served as President and Chief Executive Officer and as director of Ute Energy, LLC, from 2010 until its sale in 2012. From 2006 to 2010, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Bill Barrett Corporation. From 2001 to 2006, he was Vice President, Exploration & Production, for Williams Companies. Previously, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Barrett Resources, from 2000 until its sale to Williams in August 2001. From 1981 through 2000, he worked for BP Amoco in various domestic and international assignments of increasing responsibility culminating in executive oversight for the Northern North Sea, one of BP’s largest producing assets at the time. Mr. Jaggers is a past President of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, past Executive Director of the Independent Producers Association of the Mountain State and an inductee into the Rocky Mountain Oil and Gas Hall of Fame. Mr. Jaggers has been a Company director since 2015.

With more than 35 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, including a long record of achieving production and reserve growth, Mr. Jaggers has familiarity with market cycles and dynamics and contributes to the Board’s oversight of our exploration and production business. Additionally, his substantial executive experience with large, public exploration and production companies combined with his extensive operational experience in diverse producing basins provides the Board with insight in assessing various risks that may affect oil and gas operations at the Company. With experience as a senior leader in a number of exploration and production companies, Mr. Jaggers adds significant operational depth to the Board as well as an understanding of effective and efficient resource development. These attributes assist the Board in its oversight of the ongoing development of the Company’s various oil and gas assets and evaluation of the continued advancement of the Company’s Appalachian drilling program.

Ms. Ranich is a former director at Deloitte Consulting, LLP, where she led the firm’s Energy and Sustainability Investment Advisory Services for public sector clients, providing counsel on more than $1 billion of investments. Her practice focused on strategic energy investments designed to mitigate and manage risks related to energy supply, demand and climate change issues. Preceding her position at Deloitte, Ms. Ranich worked at PSG International, where she was a member of the management team leading negotiations to implement the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline, a multibillion dollar, 1,700-kilometer pipeline project transporting natural gas from Turkmenistan to Turkey. She was previously a Vice President at Michael Baker Corporation, an international engineering, energy and environmental services firm. While at Baker, she held executive responsibility for delivering energy and environmental engineering services in Europe, Russia and the Caspian region, overseeing projects with a construction value in excess of $40 billion. She managed offices in London, Naples, Wiesbaden and Moscow. Ms. Ranich served as a member of the Board of Directors of Questar Corporation from 2013 until September 2016, when Questar was acquired by Dominion Resources, Inc. At Questar she was Chair of the Board’s Governance and Nominating Committee. She is a member of the Supervisory Board at Uniper SE, a German power generation and energy supply chain corporation, and the Board of Directors of Cardno Limited, an Australian infrastructure and environmental services company. She serves as vice chair of the Board of the Gas Technology Institute and chair of its Investment Committee, and she is an advisory board member of Yet Analytics, an xAPI data analytics platform. In addition to being an investor in and advisor to emerging technology companies, Ms. Ranich is a member of the Technology Commercialization Panel for the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Ms. Ranich has been a Company director since 2016.

Ms. Ranich’s strong background and wealth of experience in strategic energy investments, project development and risk management contribute significantly to the Board. With her work on sustainable environmental practices and strong global industry experience, Ms. Ranich’s skills complement the diverse backgrounds on the Board. Ms. Ranich also brings to the Board her successful track record of establishing, building and leading energy-focused businesses.

Mr. Shaw retired as Chief Executive Officer of Southwest Gas Corporation (“Southwest”) on March 1, 2015. He was named Chief Executive Officer and a director of Southwest in 2004 and also served as President of Southwest at various times from 2003 to 2014. Previously Mr. Shaw, a CPA, held various positions at Southwest, including Director of Internal Audit, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer, Vice President/Controller and Chief Accounting Officer, Vice President and Treasurer, Senior Vice President/Finance and Treasurer, and Senior Vice President/Gas Resources and Pricing. He worked for Arthur Anderson & Co. in its Dallas and Las Vegas offices in the audit division prior to joining Southwest Gas in May of 1988. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Nevada Society of CPAs and the Leadership Las Vegas Alumni Association. Mr. Shaw is a member of the Advisory Board of the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business and is a member and past Chairman of the Broadcast Leadership Council at Brigham Young University. He is a past director of Southwest Gas Corporation and the American Gas Association, past Chairman and director of the Western Energy Institute and past President and trustee of the Las Vegas Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Mr. Shaw has been a Company director since 2014.

Mr. Shaw’s extensive executive management and financial experience at an energy company with regulated businesses similar to those of the Company provides the Board with valuable perspective and understanding of state regulatory activities. In particular, Mr. Shaw’s accounting and finance background, and the significant roles he has held in these areas over his career, qualify him as an “Audit Committee Financial Expert” under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and enable him to play a key role in performing the Board’s audit oversight function. In addition, Mr. Shaw’s background and financial expertise contribute to the Board’s understanding and guidance on financial matters.

Mr. Skains is the former Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President of Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc., serving from 2002 as President and from 2003 as Chairman and CEO, until his retirement in October 2016. Previously, Mr. Skains held various positions at Piedmont, including Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President — Marketing and Supply Services. Mr. Skains held positions of increasing responsibility with Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corporation, which he joined in 1981 as an attorney and served as corporate and senior attorney before being named Vice President in 1986 and Senior Vice President — Transportation and Customer Services in 1989. In October 2016, Mr. Skains became a director at Duke Energy Corporation, where he chairs its Regulatory Policy and Operations Committee and serves on its Finance and Risk Management Committee, and where he previously served on its Nuclear Oversight Committee. Mr. Skains has served as a director of BB&T Corporation since 2009, where he chairs its Executive Committee and serves on its Risk Committee, and where he previously chaired its Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and its Risk Committee. Mr. Skains has also served as a director at BB&T Corporation’s subsidiary, Branch Banking and Trust Company, since 2013, where he chairs its Executive Committee and serves on and previously chaired its Risk Committee. Mr. Skains previously served on the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and was Chairman in 2015. He also served on the boards of several industry and community organizations, including Gas Technology Institute, the American Gas Association (as Chairman in 2009), the Southern Gas Association (as Chairman in 2006) and the American Gas Foundation (a not-for-profit energy research group). Mr. Skains has been a Company director since 2016.

Mr. Skains’ strong leadership and strategic management skills provide the Board with a valuable perspective on the complexities, challenges and opportunities facing the natural gas industry. Through his experiences at Piedmont and Transco, Mr. Skains contributes significant knowledge of the legal and regulatory issues encountered by project sponsors in developing natural gas pipeline projects. Mr. Skains brings to the Board extensive knowledge of the natural gas industry and is able to use his legal training and experience as a corporate energy attorney to provide insight on legal and regulatory compliance matters and contribute to corporate governance matters.

Mr. Smith has been Chairman of the Board of the Company since March 2010 (from March 2013 through March 2014 he served as Executive Chairman of the Board). He also served as Chief Executive Officer of the Company from February 2008 until March 2013; as President of the Company from February 2006 through June 2010; and as Chief Operating Officer of the Company from February 2006 to February 2008. Mr. Smith was also President and/or Chairman of each of the Company’s major subsidiaries over the course of his career. He is a Board member of Gas Technology Institute (Executive Committee and Audit Committee), Emeritus Board member of the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School Dean’s Advisory Council, a former director of the American Gas Association and former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Business Council of New York State. Mr. Smith has been a Company director since 2007.

Mr. Smith brings to the Board significant industry and Company expertise and leadership experience. His 36-year tenure with the Company and time in key leadership positions within all of the Company’s business segments has resulted in significant knowledge of the Company’s history and strategies during its substantial growth from a regional utility to a much larger diversified energy company. He also brings a long and active participation in industry groups that identify and address important issues facing the Company and has well-established relationships of trust with other industry leaders. In addition, Mr. Smith has deep ties to businesses and civic organizations in Western New York (the location of the Company’s corporate headquarters and most of its business units). His experience as an active participant during decades of regulatory evolution at the state and federal levels provides valuable perspective and insight into the political and regulatory trends impacting the Company’s regulated pipeline, storage and utility businesses.

Mr. Tanski is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, serving from March 2013 through June 2019. Mr. Tanski also served as President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company from July 2010 to March 2013 and as Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer from April 2004 to July 2010. Mr. Tanski was President of National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation from July 2008 to July 2010 and President of National Fuel Gas Distribution Corporation from February 2006 to July 2008. He was previously Treasurer of those and other subsidiaries of the Company, and he also served in management roles at Seneca Resources Corporation (now Seneca Resources Company, LLC) and Horizon Energy Development, Inc. (sold in 2010). He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (“INGAA”) and was INGAA Chairman in 2015. Mr. Tanski is a director of the American Gas Association and a member of the Council on Accountancy at Canisius College. He also serves as Secretary on the Board of Managers of the Buffalo Museum of Science and as a member of the Executive Committee, and he is a director of Invest Buffalo Niagara. Mr. Tanski has been a Company director since 2014.

Over the course of his 40-year career with the Company, which afforded him a broad range of experience through numerous leadership positions in both the regulated and non-regulated businesses, Mr. Tanski gained hands-on, practical knowledge about virtually every aspect of the Company’s operations. His role as CEO and substantial management experience with the Company’s subsidiaries, his detailed understanding of the Company’s integrated operations, and in particular, his financial background with the Company assist the Board with management of the Company’s operations. Mr. Tanski also has deep ties to Western New York, the location of the Company’s corporate headquarters and a number of its significant business units.

Mr. Anderson is President and Chief Executive Officer of Northwest Natural Holding Company (Northwest Holdings) and Northwest Natural Gas Company. He has held a series of positions with increasing responsibility at Northwest Holdings since joining the company in 2004, including Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to that, Mr. Anderson was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at TXU Gas Company and Chief Accounting Officer at TXU Corporation, an energy services company that included electricity generation and the transmission and distribution of electricity and natural gas. Mr. Anderson serves as a director for Northwest Holdings, as well as serving on the board of directors of the American Gas Association (AGA) and the American Gas Foundation. He is also chairman of the AGA’s Audit Committee, co-chairperson of the AGA’s Carbon Policy Task Force, a member of AGA’s Finance Committee and Safety, Resilience/Reliability and Security Task Force, and a board trustee of the American Gas Foundation. Additionally, he serves as a director of the Oregon Business Council. Mr. Anderson also serves on Oregon Governor Kate Brown’s Global Warming Commission and is a member of the Founders’ Circle of SOLVE, an Oregon non-profit dedicated to environmental stewardship. Mr. Anderson has been a Company director since June 2019.

Mr. Anderson’s extensive financial and operational experience in the natural gas industry and leadership roles on environmental matters provide the Board with important perspectives with respect to the Company’s business operations, sustainability, and financial positioning. Mr. Anderson’s combined professional skills and energy industry insights strengthen the Board’s collective knowledge, capabilities, and experience. In addition, the significant roles he has held in accounting and finance qualify Mr. Anderson as an “Audit Committee Financial Expert” under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules.

Mr. Carroll is the President and CEO of Gas Technology Institute (“GTI”), a position he has held since 2006. From 2001 through 2006, he served as the Vice President of Business Development for GTI. From 1996 to 2001, he worked for Praxair, Inc., serving as Director of Business Development from 1999 to 2001. Prior to that, Mr. Carroll held positions of increasing responsibility with Liquid Carbonic Industries, a subsidiary of Chicago Bridge & Iron, from 1994 to 1996, and Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. from 1980 to 1994. All of these companies are industrial gas producers and manufacturers. He is a Trustee of the American Gas Foundation, a member of the Governing Board of Stanford University’s Natural Gas Initiative, and a member of the Society of Gas Lighting. He was also Chairman of the steering committee for the 17th International Conference and Exhibition on Liquefied Natural Gas in Houston (2013). In June 2015, Mr. Carroll was named President of the International Gas Union, a term that concluded in June 2018 as the United States held the 2018 World Gas Conference in Washington, D.C. Mr. Carroll has been a Company director since 2012.

Mr. Carroll is a highly respected, nationally and internationally recognized leader in the research and development of natural gas technologies and market solutions. His multi-faceted knowledge of the natural gas industry brings economic, technological and leadership experience to the Board. Through his professional career, Mr. Carroll has developed expertise on unconventional gas production, transmission and distribution pipeline integrity and end use technologies as well as insight into market and industry developments and conditions. This unique combination of skills contributes to the Board’s oversight of our integrated natural gas operations and provides valuable insight into risks and opportunities for the continued growth of the Company’s various business segments, as well as insight into emerging energy industries. Mr. Carroll is heavily involved in both the domestic and international natural gas business communities, providing the Board with a broad perspective on emerging technical, regulatory and economic issues.

Mr. Ewing served as Vice Chairman of DTE Energy Company (“DTE”), a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide, from November 2005 to December 2006. Two of DTE’s subsidiaries are DTE Electric Company (formerly known as Detroit Edison), one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, and DTE Gas Company (formerly known as Michigan Consolidated Gas Company, or “MichCon”), one of the nation’s largest natural gas local distribution companies. Mr. Ewing also had responsibility for DTE’s exploration and production subsidiary, DTE Gas Resources, with operations in the Antrim and Barnett Shale. He was also, at various times, Group President of the Gas Division at DTE, President and Chief Operating Officer of MCN Energy Group, Inc. (the then parent of MichCon and a company which had utility, pipeline and storage, and exploration and production businesses) and President and Chief Executive Officer of MichCon, until it was acquired by DTE. He was also Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Gas Association for 2006, a member of the National Petroleum Council, and Chairman of the Midwest Gas Association and the Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition. He is a past trustee and past Chairman of the Board of The Skillman Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation focused on providing education for low-income children, past director and Chairman of the Auto Club of Michigan and past director and Chairman of the Board of the Auto Club Group (“AAA”). Mr. Ewing has been a Company director since 2007.

With his extensive background in executive management at energy companies with regulated businesses, Mr. Ewing provides valuable perspective on the Company’s operations. Through his senior leadership positions at MichCon, MCN Energy and, ultimately, DTE, he has expertise in managing pipeline and utility natural gas operations in the northern U.S. This experience, coupled with his oversight of DTE’s exploration and production subsidiary’s operations in the Antrim and Barnett Shale, provides the Board with significant insight into the Company’s integrated operations and opportunities for further Company growth via strategic upstream and midstream development. In addition, his current position as a director of another northern energy company, CMS Energy, provides a current perspective on natural gas regulation. Mr. Ewing is the Company’s Lead Independent Director.

Mr. Finch is the former Plant Manager of the General Motors (“GM”) Tonawanda Engine Plant, one of Western New York’s largest manufacturers with approximately 1,600 employees. Mr. Finch, a Western New York native, began his 41-year career with GM in 1976 as a General Motors Institute co-op student at the Chevrolet Gear and Axle Plant in Buffalo, N.Y. Over the course of 30 years, he held several assignments with increasing responsibility at various GM facilities outside Buffalo before becoming Tonawanda Engine Plant Manager in 2007. Following his 2017 retirement from GM, Mr. Finch joined the Automobile Association of America Western and Central New York as Senior Vice President of Automotive Services. Mr. Finch currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Buffalo Urban League, was a previous Chairman of the Board for United Way of Buffalo and Erie County, and a previous board member of AAA Western and Central New York. Mr. Finch has been a Company director since 2018.

With a career spanning more than four decades, Mr. Finch has a proven track record of leadership during a period of significant evolution for the automotive industry. Mr. Finch helped navigate the GM workforce through economic downturn and bankruptcy. After a reorganization, he successfully secured the addition of three new engine product lines, ultimately overseeing investments at the plant totaling more than $3 billion during his 10-year tenure. Through his extensive GM career, Mr. Finch developed expansive and diverse experience in manufacturing and customer relations, as well as in capital and labor management. Mr. Finch’s success in managing highly technical operations and delivering a quality product in a safe, environmentally responsible and cost-effective manner has direct application to National Fuel’s work in the energy industry. Mr. Finch’s experience in senior level oversight during periods of significant industry challenge and disruption provides an important perspective on regulatory and economic issues.

Mr. Jaggers is the former President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Jagged Peak Energy Inc., an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Before forming Jagged Peak Energy in 2013, Mr. Jaggers served as President and Chief Executive Officer and as director of Ute Energy, LLC, from 2010 until its sale in 2012. From 2006 to 2010, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Bill Barrett Corporation. From 2001 to 2006, he was Vice President, Exploration & Production, for Williams Companies. Previously, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Barrett Resources, from 2000 until its sale to Williams in August 2001. From 1981 through 2000, he worked for BP Amoco in various domestic and international assignments of increasing responsibility culminating in executive oversight for the Northern North Sea, one of BP’s largest producing assets at the time. Mr. Jaggers is a past President of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, past Executive Director of the Independent Producers Association of the Mountain State and an inductee into the Rocky Mountain Oil and Gas Hall of Fame. Mr. Jaggers has been a Company director since 2015.

With more than 35 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, including a long record of achieving production and reserve growth, Mr. Jaggers has familiarity with market cycles and dynamics and contributes to the Board’s oversight of our exploration and production business. Additionally, his substantial executive experience with large, public exploration and production companies combined with his extensive operational experience in diverse producing basins provides the Board with insight in assessing various risks that may affect oil and gas operations at the Company. With experience as a senior leader in a number of exploration and production companies, Mr. Jaggers adds significant operational depth to the Board as well as an understanding of effective and efficient resource development. These attributes assist the Board in its oversight of the ongoing development of the Company’s various oil and gas assets and evaluation of the continued advancement of the Company’s Appalachian drilling program.

Ms. Ranich is a former director at Deloitte Consulting, LLP, where she led the firm’s Energy and Sustainability Investment Advisory Services for public sector clients, providing counsel on more than $1 billion of investments. Her practice focused on strategic energy investments designed to mitigate and manage risks related to energy supply, demand and climate change issues. Preceding her position at Deloitte, Ms. Ranich worked at PSG International, where she was a member of the management team leading negotiations to implement the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline, a multibillion dollar, 1,700-kilometer pipeline project transporting natural gas from Turkmenistan to Turkey. She was previously a Vice President at Michael Baker Corporation, an international engineering, energy and environmental services firm. While at Baker, she held executive responsibility for delivering energy and environmental engineering services in Europe, Russia and the Caspian region, overseeing projects with a construction value in excess of $40 billion. She managed offices in London, Naples, Wiesbaden and Moscow. Ms. Ranich served as a member of the Board of Directors of Questar Corporation from 2013 until September 2016, when Questar was acquired by Dominion Resources, Inc. At Questar she was Chair of the Board’s Governance and Nominating Committee. She is a member of the Supervisory Board at Uniper SE, a German power generation and energy supply chain corporation, and the Board of Directors of Cardno Limited, an Australian infrastructure and environmental services company. She serves as vice chair of the Board of the Gas Technology Institute and chair of its Investment Committee, and she is an advisory board member of Yet Analytics, an xAPI data analytics platform. In addition to being an investor in and advisor to emerging technology companies, Ms. Ranich is a member of the Technology Commercialization Panel for the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Ms. Ranich has been a Company director since 2016.

Ms. Ranich’s strong background and wealth of experience in strategic energy investments, project development and risk management contribute significantly to the Board. With her work on sustainable environmental practices and strong global industry experience, Ms. Ranich’s skills complement the diverse backgrounds on the Board. Ms. Ranich also brings to the Board her successful track record of establishing, building and leading energy-focused businesses.

Mr. Shaw retired as Chief Executive Officer of Southwest Gas Corporation (“Southwest”) on March 1, 2015. He was named Chief Executive Officer and a director of Southwest in 2004 and also served as President of Southwest at various times from 2003 to 2014. Previously Mr. Shaw, a CPA, held various positions at Southwest, including Director of Internal Audit, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer, Vice President/Controller and Chief Accounting Officer, Vice President and Treasurer, Senior Vice President/Finance and Treasurer, and Senior Vice President/Gas Resources and Pricing. He worked for Arthur Anderson & Co. in its Dallas and Las Vegas offices in the audit division prior to joining Southwest Gas in May of 1988. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Nevada Society of CPAs and the Leadership Las Vegas Alumni Association. Mr. Shaw is a member of the Advisory Board of the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business and is a member and past Chairman of the Broadcast Leadership Council at Brigham Young University. He is a past director of Southwest Gas Corporation and the American Gas Association, past Chairman and director of the Western Energy Institute and past President and trustee of the Las Vegas Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Mr. Shaw has been a Company director since 2014.

Mr. Shaw’s extensive executive management and financial experience at an energy company with regulated businesses similar to those of the Company provides the Board with valuable perspective and understanding of state regulatory activities. In particular, Mr. Shaw’s accounting and finance background, and the significant roles he has held in these areas over his career, qualify him as an “Audit Committee Financial Expert” under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and enable him to play a key role in performing the Board’s audit oversight function. In addition, Mr. Shaw’s background and financial expertise contribute to the Board’s understanding and guidance on financial matters.

Mr. Skains is the former Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President of Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc., serving from 2002 as President and from 2003 as Chairman and CEO, until his retirement in October 2016. Previously, Mr. Skains held various positions at Piedmont, including Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President — Marketing and Supply Services. Mr. Skains held positions of increasing responsibility with Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corporation, which he joined in 1981 as an attorney and served as corporate and senior attorney before being named Vice President in 1986 and Senior Vice President — Transportation and Customer Services in 1989. In October 2016, Mr. Skains became a director at Duke Energy Corporation, where he chairs its Regulatory Policy and Operations Committee and serves on its Finance and Risk Management Committee, and where he previously served on its Nuclear Oversight Committee. Mr. Skains has served as a director of BB&T Corporation since 2009, where he chairs its Executive Committee and serves on its Risk Committee, and where he previously chaired its Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and its Risk Committee. Mr. Skains has also served as a director at BB&T Corporation’s subsidiary, Branch Banking and Trust Company, since 2013, where he chairs its Executive Committee and serves on and previously chaired its Risk Committee. Mr. Skains previously served on the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and was Chairman in 2015. He also served on the boards of several industry and community organizations, including Gas Technology Institute, the American Gas Association (as Chairman in 2009), the Southern Gas Association (as Chairman in 2006) and the American Gas Foundation (a not-for-profit energy research group). Mr. Skains has been a Company director since 2016.

Mr. Skains’ strong leadership and strategic management skills provide the Board with a valuable perspective on the complexities, challenges and opportunities facing the natural gas industry. Through his experiences at Piedmont and Transco, Mr. Skains contributes significant knowledge of the legal and regulatory issues encountered by project sponsors in developing natural gas pipeline projects. Mr. Skains brings to the Board extensive knowledge of the natural gas industry and is able to use his legal training and experience as a corporate energy attorney to provide insight on legal and regulatory compliance matters and contribute to corporate governance matters.

Mr. Smith has been Chairman of the Board of the Company since March 2010 (from March 2013 through March 2014 he served as Executive Chairman of the Board). He also served as Chief Executive Officer of the Company from February 2008 until March 2013; as President of the Company from February 2006 through June 2010; and as Chief Operating Officer of the Company from February 2006 to February 2008. Mr. Smith was also President and/or Chairman of each of the Company’s major subsidiaries over the course of his career. He is a Board member of Gas Technology Institute (Executive Committee and Audit Committee), Emeritus Board member of the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School Dean’s Advisory Council, a former director of the American Gas Association and former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Business Council of New York State. Mr. Smith has been a Company director since 2007.

Mr. Smith brings to the Board significant industry and Company expertise and leadership experience. His 36-year tenure with the Company and time in key leadership positions within all of the Company’s business segments has resulted in significant knowledge of the Company’s history and strategies during its substantial growth from a regional utility to a much larger diversified energy company. He also brings a long and active participation in industry groups that identify and address important issues facing the Company and has well-established relationships of trust with other industry leaders. In addition, Mr. Smith has deep ties to businesses and civic organizations in Western New York (the location of the Company’s corporate headquarters and most of its business units). His experience as an active participant during decades of regulatory evolution at the state and federal levels provides valuable perspective and insight into the political and regulatory trends impacting the Company’s regulated pipeline, storage and utility businesses.

Mr. Tanski is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, serving from March 2013 through June 2019. Mr. Tanski also served as President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company from July 2010 to March 2013 and as Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer from April 2004 to July 2010. Mr. Tanski was President of National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation from July 2008 to July 2010 and President of National Fuel Gas Distribution Corporation from February 2006 to July 2008. He was previously Treasurer of those and other subsidiaries of the Company, and he also served in management roles at Seneca Resources Corporation (now Seneca Resources Company, LLC) and Horizon Energy Development, Inc. (sold in 2010). He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (“INGAA”) and was INGAA Chairman in 2015. Mr. Tanski is a director of the American Gas Association and a member of the Council on Accountancy at Canisius College. He also serves as Secretary on the Board of Managers of the Buffalo Museum of Science and as a member of the Executive Committee, and he is a director of Invest Buffalo Niagara. Mr. Tanski has been a Company director since 2014.

Over the course of his 40-year career with the Company, which afforded him a broad range of experience through numerous leadership positions in both the regulated and non-regulated businesses, Mr. Tanski gained hands-on, practical knowledge about virtually every aspect of the Company’s operations. His role as CEO and substantial management experience with the Company’s subsidiaries, his detailed understanding of the Company’s integrated operations, and in particular, his financial background with the Company assist the Board with management of the Company’s operations. Mr. Tanski also has deep ties to Western New York, the location of the Company’s corporate headquarters and a number of its significant business units.

(1) Effective February 1, 2018, the Wells Fargo Shareowner Service division of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., has been sold to Equinity Group, plc.

Disclosure: Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

National Fuel Gas Company is including the following cautionary statement in this corporate website to make applicable and take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, the Company.

Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding future prospects, plans, objectives, goals, projections, estimates of oil and gas quantities, strategies, future events or performance and underlying assumptions, capital structure, anticipated capital expenditures, completion of construction projects, projections for pension and other post-retirement benefit obligations, impacts of the adoption of new accounting rules, and possible outcomes of litigation or regulatory proceedings, as well as statements that are identified by the use of the words "anticipates," "estimates," "expects," "forecasts," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "projects," "believes," "seeks," "will," "may" and similar expressions. All forward-looking statements, whether written or oral and whether made by or on behalf of the Company, are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements.

The Company's expectations, beliefs and projections are expressed in good faith and are believed by the Company to have a reasonable basis, but there can be no assurance that management's expectations, beliefs or projections will result or be achieved or accomplished.

In addition to other factors and matters discussed elsewhere in this website, the following are important factors that, in the view of the Company, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements:

Changes in laws, regulations or judicial interpretations to which the Company is subject, including those involving derivatives, taxes, safety, employment, climate change, other environmental matters, real property, and exploration and production activities such as hydraulic fracturing;

Delays or changes in costs or plans with respect to Company projects or related projects of other companies, including difficulties or delays in obtaining necessary governmental approvals, permits or orders or in obtaining the cooperation of interconnecting facility operators;

Financial and economic conditions, including the availability of credit, and occurrences affecting the Company’s ability to obtain financing on acceptable terms for working capital, capital expenditures and other investments, including any downgrades in the Company’s credit ratings and changes in interest rates and other capital market conditions;

Changes in the price of natural gas or oil;

Impairments under the SEC’s full cost ceiling test for natural gas and oil reserves;

Factors affecting the Company’s ability to successfully identify, drill for and produce economically viable natural gas and oil reserves, including among others geology, lease availability, title disputes, weather conditions, shortages, delays or unavailability of equipment and services required in drilling operations, insufficient gathering, processing and transportation capacity, the need to obtain governmental approvals and permits, and compliance with environmental laws and regulations;

Increasing health care costs and the resulting effect on health insurance premiums and on the obligation to provide other post-retirement benefits;

Changes in price differentials between similar quantities of natural gas or oil at different geographic locations, and the effect of such changes on commodity production, revenues and demand for pipeline transportation capacity to or from such locations;

Other changes in price differentials between similar quantities of natural gas or oil having different quality, heating value, hydrocarbon mix or delivery date;

The cost and effects of legal and administrative claims against the Company or activist shareholder campaigns to effect changes at the Company;

Uncertainty of oil and gas reserve estimates;

Significant differences between the Company’s projected and actual production levels for natural gas or oil;

Changes in demographic patterns and weather conditions;

Changes in the availability, price or accounting treatment of derivative financial instruments;

Changes in laws, actuarial assumptions, the interest rate environment and the return on plan/trust assets related to the Company’s pension and other post-retirement benefits, which can affect future funding obligations and costs and plan liabilities;

Changes in economic conditions, including global, national or regional recessions, and their effect on the demand for, and customers’ ability to pay for, the Company’s products and services;

The creditworthiness or performance of the Company’s key suppliers, customers and counterparties;

The impact of information technology, cybersecurity or data security breaches;